DISCLAIMER: Not mine
Lullabies and Kneezles
A piercing scream brought a tired James Potter to conscientiousness. He opened one eye and saw his wife sitting up. He saw the scar on her arm, a reminder of the attack a month earlier. He saw her rub her eyes. He placed a hand on her arm. She looked at him.
"I'll get him,"
James said. He reached for his glasses.
"Thanks, love," she
murmured, lying back down. James pulled the covers over her and kissed her
forehead. He pulled on his robe and padded to the next room where his
one-year-old son was screaming his head off. Harry's face was the color of
Hagrid's when he was drunk. James picked up Harry and the tiny Potter seemed to
relax and the sobs subsided into drunken hiccups.
James smiled. "There, what was that?"
Harry just looked up at his father, a smile adorning one tooth spread. "Da."
James shifted Harry to his other hip. They wandered over to the window. The moon cast shadows over the lawn. James' Auror-trained eyes surveyed the yard. He sighed.
"Oh Harry. I wish you could grow up in a world rid of Voldemort. One where your uncle Sirius could help me teach you to fly and Remus would worry with your mum. Then, you could be with other wizarding families, not locked up in this house, under this damn spell," said James. Harry smiled.
"Damn!" he repeated. James's eyes grew wide behind his glasses.
"Nononono Harry. Bad word. Oh, your mum would have my hide if she heard that word from your mouth," said James. Harry just cooed and drooled.
"I love you, little man," whispered James. "I will do everything in my power to save you and your mum. I love you more than life." James used his free hand to wipe tears from his eyes. Harry's eyes began to droop. James bent to place him in the crib, but Harry gripped his robe. James sighed and settled in a rocking chair. He rocked, rubbing Harry's back as the littlest Potter sucked contently on his thumb.
James hummed a lullabye softly, as he vaguely noticed their pet Kneezle, Buddy, wander into the room. The black fluff ball watched from his perch on the windowsill, as father and son fell asleep.
That was the way Lily found them at eight o'clock the next morning. Harry sat in his father's lap, with James' glasses perched on his nose, giggling.
"Oh James," she said. She picked up Harry, who looked at her
"Da!" he said, pointing a chubby finger at himself.
"Yes, you look like your daddy," smiled Lily, smoothing Harry's hair down. She carefully extracted James' spectacles out of her son's fists as he chewed on the lenses. She took them down to the kitchen. She looked around the room and sighed.
"This house is a mess," she said.
"Damn!" said Harry, his large green eyes looking at her. Lily's matching eyes narrowed.
"JAMES POTTER!" yelled Lily. Upstairs in the nursery, James jumped out of the chair, half-asleep. He stumbled blindly downstairs, cursing under his breath for his lack of sight.
Buddy lazily opened one eye as his ears picked up the words sounding from the kitchen.
"James Potter! Are you teaching our son to curse already? Just wait until I get my wand…"
* * * *
Buddy finally crawled out from under the master bed. He crept out into the hall. His yellow eyes surveyed the tragic scene through the railing bars. The door blasted into splinters off its hinges. The largest Potter lay on the floor. Buddy mewed. He turned to the nursery. The mother rested on the carpet, her emerald eyes dark without the light of life. The baby sat crying on the floor, an odd gash on his head. Buddy padded over to the infant and rubbed his head under Harry's chin. His sobs subsided and he clumsily patted the Kneezle. Buddy curled up next to the kid and Harry petted him, happily, not realizing his life was just changed forever.
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